The bigger chore, however, came later—Cooper had to apologize to his Philadelphia Eagles teammates, the majority of them African-American, for using a common racial slur at a concert at the team’s home stadium last month.

Riley Cooper is expected to fill in for inured Eagles teammate Jeremy Maclin, who is out with a torn ACL. (AP Photo)

"It will be very difficult for me," Cooper, the fourth-year wide receiver from Florida, told reporters at the Eagles’ facility in Philadelphia. "I’ll tell them exactly what I’m telling you guys—there was a confrontation, and I handled it extremely, extremely poorly."

At least one Eagle, arguably the most influential one, accepted Cooper’s gesture.

"Him being my brother, knowing him for so long, it's hard to defend him saying that. At the same time, it happened," quarterback Michael Vick told USA Today Wednesday evening. "We talked about it man to man, one on one. We just know that we have to some way move on. It's a very delicate situation. But we all understand. Somehow we all have to find a way to get past it. That's maturity in itself."

Vick referenced his own redemption, from a prison sentence for dogfighting and a two-year absence from the NFL, in finding room to forgive Cooper.

"What if your son or daughter made a mistake of this factor? How would you want people to perceive it? I've been there before," Vick said.

Cooper was told earlier that afternoon, by an Eagles official, that the video had blown up all over social media—posted soon after the incident by Philadelphia-based CrossingBroad.com, but on Wednesday by Deadspin.com.

The video, from a Kenny Chesney concert at Lincoln Financial Field on June 8, went viral mid-afternoon on Wednesday, and within two hours Cooper was pleading for forgiveness and understanding. In the brief clip, he appears angry and is being surrounded and calmed down by friends—and he points at something or someone and says, "I will jump that fence and fight every (N-word) here, bro."

When it went public, Cooper —expected to replace Jeremy Maclin after he was lost for the season with a torn ACL Saturday—went on Twitter to issue an apology, which was also sent out by the Eagles. Not long afterward, he faced the music in person, acknowledging that the toughest audience, his teammates, was next.

"I’m gonna tell them exactly what I’m telling you guys, how extremely sorry I am and how I should never had said what I said," Cooper insisted. "Most of the ones that know me, which kind of excludes the rookies coming in, they know what kind of person I am."

Cooper said he’d had "a confrontation with one of the security guards; I said something completely disgusting, and I shouldn’t have said that." The security guard, he admitted, "was African-American." He also admitted that he was drinking that night, “but that is no excuse for what I said and what I did.’’

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie released a statement late in the afternoon, around the same time Cooper was speaking: "We are shocked and appalled by Riley Cooper’s words. This sort of behavior or attitude from anyone has no role in a civil society. He has accepted responsibility for his words and his actions. He has been fined for this incident."

The NFL later released a statement on Cooper’s action: "The NFL stands for diversity and inclusion. Comments like this are wrong, offensive, and unacceptable."

Neither the team nor Cooper revealed the amount of the fine. "It was a good amount of money, but that’s really not important," Cooper said. "The situation should not have been dealt with the way I dealt with it, and I’m willing to accept all consequences."

Cooper said he had spoken to, and apologized to, Lurie, general manager Howie Roseman and head coach Chip Kelly.

Asked whether he used such language before or regularly, Cooper told reporters, "I shouldn’t have. I’m disgusted, and I’m sorry. That’s not the type of person I am. I wasn’t raised that way. I have a great mom and dad at home, and they’re extremely, extremely disappointed in me."

He said he feels "kind of the lowest of the lows. This is not the type of person I want to be portrayed as. That’s not the person I am."

It was pointed out to him that the city of Philadelphia—43.4 percent African American, according to the 2010 U.S. census—was not reacting well to the video.

"I know no one in Philadelphia is happy with me now, and I accept that," Cooper said. "I just hope they see the true me and accept my apology."